Scarred
by darkrae93
Summary: The pack rescues a female wolf from humans that had captured her. She has caught the attention of Tsume. Will they make it to paradise together?
1. Chapter 1

"Tsume wait up!" Toboe whined as he attempted to keep up with the grey wolf, who was way in front of the rest of the group.

The group was made up of four wolves, a girl and one "mutt", a half dog half wolf mix. The first was known as Kiba, a white wolf, but in the eyes of humans, appeared as a teenage boy with messy brown hair, wearing jeans, a white shirt, and a black jacket. Second was known as Tsume, the grey wolf whom had a tough personality as he walked in front of the group. Tsume was a large grey wolf with an x-shaped scar on his chest. To humans he appeared to be a tall young man with white hair, wearing skinny black jeans, black leather vest what revealed his midriff and leather arms warmers. Third was Toboe, the youngest of the group. He was a brown wolf with a tan underbelly. He also had three silver bracelets on his right wrist. To humans he appeared to be a young teenage boy with short auburn hair and brown eyes, wearing green cargo pants and a redish long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The last wolf was Hige, a tan wolf. To humans he appeared to be a teenage bow with messy light brown hair, wearing light blue pants and a yellow sweatshirt.

The only female wolf of the group was Blue. She was a mix breed whom had joined the group later on in their journey. She had fur which appeared to be a dark blue in just the right lighting. She had learned how to appear to look human from the group, so now, in the eyes of humans, she appeared to be a young woman with short black hair, wearing thigh high black high heeled boots, a blue trench coat that stopped at the middle of her thigh and a red scarf.

The girl was name Cheza. She however was not human. She was created from a rare flower known as a lunar flower. She was a young teenage girl with short pink hair and her eyes were a magenta color entirely. She was wearing a pink coat with short sleeves. Under it she had a white body suit. Lastly was a pair of pink boots to tie everything together.

The story behind this group revolved in Kiba's search for a legendary place known as paradise. It is a world where wolves can truly live free. In the world they live in currently wolves are extinct in the eyes of humans. The world no longer had forests where they could live in. That is why they are now looking for paradise. A place only wolves can get into. A place only Cheza could take them.

"We should rest" Kiba stopped.

"Fine" Tsume reluctantly agreed, only due to the fact Kiba was the only one who knew where they were going.

Cheza smiled "This one is thirsty"

"There is a lake a few yards to the east." Toboe smiled.

"Let's all get a drink" Blue smiled.

The group nodded and followed Kiba's lead over to a large lake that lay in the center of the grassy valley. Cheza stepped into the water and looked up at the sky. Since she was truly a flower, all she needed was sunlight and water to live.

The rest of the group began drinking the water when their ears perked up hearing a vehicle. The group looked over at a large pickup truck. In the back was a cage with a jet black wolf locked inside.

"A wolf…" Cheza spoke softly.

"Humans just won't quit…" Tsume scoffed.

"We can't just let them take her, they'll kill her" Toboe looked at Kiba who nodded.

"Blue stay here with Cheza…" Kiba ran in the direction of the jeep with the other three wolves following close behind him. The four wolves did not even attempt to hide their wolf forms from these humans since they intended to save this wolf.

Tsume and Hige jumped into the jeep, growling with teeth bared. The men screamed and attempted to hit them with the backs of their guns only to miss. Hige bit the driver's shoulders making him scream and veer off the dirt road and the jeep lost control and tipped over onto its side. The two men climbed out and ran as fast as they could away from the group of wolves.

The black wolf got to its feet and looked out at the group who was standing outside. Kiba and Toboe were in front while Tsume and Hige approached and joined them.

"Are you alright?" Kiba spoke.

"I'm fine." The wolf spoke. She was a young female wolf with green eyes. On her left hind leg was a scar resembling a bite.

"Let's get her out of there" Toboe smiled and bit down on the bars, as did Kiba. The two pulled hard and eventually forced the door open.

The wolf slowly walked out of the cage with a limp in her front paw. The group could now see a bullet wound in her right shoulder.

"You're injured." Hige spoke.

"It's nothing, it's almost healed." The wolf spoke.

"What's your name?" Kiba asked.

"Shizu." She replied.

"Let's bring her back to the lake" Toboe smiled as he began walking back.

The rest of the males began walking while Shizu hesitated before following. It was her instinct to follow a pack, especially since they saved her.

As the group reached the lake, Shizu was slightly hesitant to approach. Cheza smiled and Shizu suddenly felt so calm. Cheza emitted a natural scent of lunar flowers which made wolves feel calm. Cheza walked over and gently pet Shizu's head. Cheza smelt so sweet and Shizu couldn't tell why.

"You've been through a lot…" Cheza spoke softly.

Shizu sat down and looked off to the side. In the past week alone she had lost everyone dear to her.

"What happened?" Kiba looked at Shizu.

"My pack and I were living hiding outside the city grounds. We've been that way ever since construction tore down the forests. Yesterday we were attacked. They killed everyone but I survived the shot and they threw me in that cage. They said something about a lab…then you guys showed up." Shizu spoke softly.

"How about she comes with us?" Toboe looked at Kiba.

"Sure." Kiba nodded. "If she wishes."

"Where are you all going?" Shizu looked at Toboe.

"Paradise." Toboe sighed happily. "A place where only wolves can go where everything is peaceful and beautiful and full of nature."

"Sounds amazing…but is it even real?" Shizu asked, slightly skeptical at the idea of a place she never heard of.

Toboe nodded "Come on, it'll be fun" Toboe's tail wagged happily.

"I suppose I have nothing better to do…" Shizu stood up and stretched.

"I'm Kiba" Kiba introduced himself.

"I'm Toboe" Toboe tilted his head slightly with his tail wagging.

"I am Hige" Hige sat down beside Blue.

"My name is Blue" Blue spoke softly.

"Tsume…" Tsume spoke plainly.

"This one is Cheza" Cheza smiled.

"Let's go. We don't know if those humans will return with others…" Kiba began walking as the others soon followed.


	2. Cities

The group walked for days through the large deserted field that was now covered in snow as it fell from the sky. Shizu's shoulder had already fully healed and not even a scar remained. The snow had been falling for a day straight but luckily the wind was only a gentle breeze, making the snow seem to dance as it fell to the earth.

"We're going to have to pass through a city so we should take human form. We don't want any humans attacking us…" Kiba spoke.

Each one quickly put on their spell to appear human. Kiba appeared as a teenage boy with messy brown hair, Toboe appeared as a young teenage boy with auburn hair, Hige appeared as a teenage boy with light brown messy hair, Tsume appeared as a tall older teen with short white hair, and Blue appeared as a young woman with short black hair. The group looked at Shizu. She knew how to appear in human form but she had never actually done it before. She soon appeared as a young woman with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her skin was smooth and pale and she had sharp green eyes. She was wearing skinny dark blue jeans and a form fitting unzipped leather jacket. Under the jacket she was wearing a black tank top that revealed her toned abdomen to just above her belly button. For shoes she was wearing black leather high heeled boots.

"Never had to look this way before…" Shizu shrugged.

"Dang, definitely gonna get attention." Hige chuckled only to get hit over the head by Tsume.

"Shut it, let's go." Tsume growled.

Kiba ignored the two and walked with Cheza by his side into the city. It was fairly quiet with only a few homeless people in the streets standing around trashcans with fire burning in them. It was the only way for these people to keep warm in the cold winter air as the snow continued to fall. The buildings were tall and several looked abandoned with boarded up windows and graffiti on the walls.

"What a waste of space…" Shizu grumbled.

"Come on, the faster we walk the sooner we will get out of here." Tsume picked up the pace.

"Slow down, we don't want any unnecessary attention." Kiba spoke softly, so only the group could hear him. Tsume slowed his pace down and walked with the group.

Shizu suddenly felt someone grab her arm. She glanced over and saw on older man, approximately in his late thirties with messy black hair. He was wearing tattered jeans and an older blue shirt with holes in it under a black jacket. Her nose cringed as she smelt the strong scent of alcohol.

"Hey baby. You're looking fine." The man smirked.

Shizu scoffed and kicked the man in the stomach into a dumpster. "Humans are disgusting…" She murmured to herself.

"You alright?" Tsume chuckled.

"I'm fine." Shizu shrugged. "Let's keep going."

The group continued walking until they reached the center of the city.

"Which way do we go?" Hige looked around.

"Split up…Cheza and I will cover the north, Blue and Hige get the east, Toboe, Tsume and Shizu get the west…Howl when you find a way out…" Kiba started walking north with Cheza while Blue and Hige walked to the east.

"Let's go." Tsume and Toboe began walking and Shizu followed their lead. Tsume led the two through several ally ways. "Rooftop will let us see which way out…" Tsume murmured and jumped up with great strength onto the roof. Toboe followed his lead as did Shizu. The three stood on the rooftop, looking around the city.

"This place goes on for miles…" Shizu noted aloud.

"It's gonna take forever to get outta this place." Tsume growled.

"I can't even smell a way out, all this air smells like smoke and pollution…" Toboe sighed.

"Humans are strange creatures…tear down other creatures homes to build buildings that they don't even use as shelter…pathetic…" Shizu growled.

"Come on; let's get down so that we don't get the humans suspicious…" Tsume spoke as he jumped down from the rooftop followed by Toboe and Shizu. The three landed smoothly and walked out of the ally where a small group of four thugs stood waiting, one of which was the man who had grabbed Shizu's arm.

"Hey cutie…no one turns me down." The man smirked.

"Well she just did buddy, move along." Tsume stepped in front of Shizu, glaring down at the man.

"Yea leave her alone" Toboe glared.

"This is between me and her now step aside." The man growled.

"Tsume, allow me to explain this in words even this moron could understand." Shizu stepped out from behind Tsume. "You don't have a chance with me or anyone with half a brain. I prefer men over stench covered, perverted and just plain crummy guys who do all their thinking with their dicks." Shizu smirked, her hands placed on her hips.

The guys behind the man all began laughing only to stop as the man glared at them. His gaze returned to Shizu. "Who said that you had a say in the matter?"

"Common sense. Unless you wanna lose what you think makes you a man I suggest stepping out of my way." Shizu smirked, her voice smooth yet serious.

"Oh we got ourselves a smartass." The man smirked.

"And we got a dumb-ass." Shizu rolled her eyes. Shizu then jumped back as the man attempted to punch her.

"I'm done with these clowns." Tsume cracked his knuckles.

"Yea, I'm done playing, let's get them out of here" Shizu smirked and kicked the man in the gut, forcing him to his knees. "Unless you all wanna end up like your so called boss. I suggest you pick him up and get out of here."

The men quickly picked up their boss and ran away.

"Cowards…" Shizu smirked.

"Wow Shizu you're amazing!" Toboe smiled.

Shizu shrugged. "Dominance seems to be the same with humans. You just gotta beat them down…"

Tsume chuckled. "I'm guessing you were alpha of your pack."

"No, my parents were though. I guess it kinda rubbed off on me" Shizu shrugged her shoulders "Come on; let's keep looking for a way out of this place." She walked out of the ally.

"Wow she's tough. Kinda reminds me of you Tsume" Toboe chuckled.

Tsume rolled his eyes and followed Shizu and Toboe followed him.

Hours had passed and none of the groups were able to find their way out of the city. The sun had set and each group was now wandering around in the dark.

"We won't be able to get anywhere in the dark…" Toboe spoke softly.

"He's right, we should find a place to rest until daylight." Shizu leaned against a brick wall.

"Yea…It doesn't sound like the others have found anything either." Tsume looked up at the sky. The moon was almost full yet no stars could be seen through all the city lights that were on. The group missed the outdoors that neither of them could see often with all the cities and pollution in the air.

"Let's find a place to sit and wait for daylight…" Tsume walked through the streets to an ally and sat down on the cold concrete. Shizu sat beside him and Toboe sat across from him. The three sat in silence and Shizu laid down on her back looking up at the sky.

"It is sad how humans do not even seem to miss the sky…" She closed her eyes.

"They will never change…" Tsume sighed.

Shizu was silent, only the sound of her gently breathing was heard.

"She's asleep…" Tsume spoke looking back at Toboe.

"Who knows when the last time she slept was…she said she was attacked so she probably spent hours fighting before she was captured…" Toboe spoke softly.

Tsume nodded and looked up at the sky. Tsume and Toboe stayed awake through the quiet night. The sun was beginning to rise when the group heard a howl.


	3. Moonlight

Shizu sat up as she heard the howl echo through the city.

"It's Hige." Tsume stood up.

"He must have found a way out." Toboe stood up smiling.

"Let's go, I wanna get out of this place." Shizu stood up and stretched.

The three ran out of the ally quickly. It was still early so the streets were empty since those who lived here were still sleeping peacefully in their homes. The group ran quickly without hesitation since they knew where Hige was based on his howl. They reached the edge of the city where Hige, Blue, Kiba and Cheza stood waiting.

"Way to go you finally made it." Hige chuckled.

"Come on, we still have a long way to go." Kiba spoke as he walked with Cheza by his side out of the city.

The others silently followed Kiba's lead. The snow had finally come to a stop making the walk somewhat easier for them. When they were far enough away from the city the group turned off their spells and appeared as wolves once again and began their walk once again.

"Does anyone else sense what tonight is?" Shizu finally broke the silence.

"Full moon." Toboe's tail wagged as he walked.

"Tonight will be wonderful." Cheza smiled.

"I feel energized already" Hige spoke as the group continued walking.

"We can relax at nightfall." Kiba spoke coldly as he walked.

The group grew silent and just followed Kiba and Cheza. The clouds had begun fading in the sky as the pack walked through the snowy field. The group had been walking for hours when they reached a large grassy field with a lake in the center.

"This place seems like an oasis…" Toboe looked around.

"This one feels calm…" Cheza looked up at the sky with a smile.

"We will rest here." Kiba walked to the lake and began drinking.

The sun had already begun to set as the moon slowly began to glow in the sky. The pack started feeling more energy as the full moon began to glow brighter as the sun set over the horizon. Soon enough the sun was completely gone from view and the full moon's glow cast its light over the small oasis that the wolves had discovered.

"I feel so energized!" Shizu ran a lap around the lake.

"I feel like I just wanna howl forever!" Tsume let out a long howl.

"I never understood why I had so much energy when the moon was full until I met you guys." Blue ran around with Hige running by her side.

"Hey Toboe wanna wrestle?" Shizu smiled, her tail wagging.

"Sure!" Toboe smiled and playfully tackled her.

Shizu rolled and pounced on Toboe playfully. Shizu came off as a tough girl but she still enjoyed playing just like any wolf. Toboe reminded her of her younger brother with the way he was so playful. The two wrestled for a bit, nipping at each other gently before stopping and looking up at the full moon. The rest of the pack gathered around Cheza with Shizu and Toboe. The pack all began to howl at the full moon's light. Their calls sung through the night air as Cheza smiled and closed her eyes, listening to the beautiful sound of the wolves' call.

The pack soon quieted and sat around Cheza who also sat down.

"I don't know about the rest of you but I have plenty of energy" Shizu's tail wagged as she stood up. "Anyone up for a run?"

"I'm game" Tsume stretched and stood up.

"I think I'll sit this out." Toboe laid down in the grass.

"Suit yourself" Shizu began running. She had no direction or place she wanted to go, all she knew is that she wanted to run until her body couldn't move anymore.

Tsume was running by her side. He did not know why but he was just running with her. He could easily run off on his own but he chose to stay with her.

"So you and Toboe seem to be getting along." Tsume spoke as the two continued running.

"He reminds me of my younger brother. Just as cheerful." Shizu spoke as she came to a stop on the edge of the oasis where the grass had become snow once again.

Tsume stopped as well and stretched. "He certainly has personality…"

Shizu looked over at Tsume "You certainly have the vibe of an alpha, yet you follow Kiba…why?"

"Being alpha doesn't interest me…I only follow Kiba so I can see if this so called paradise really exists…" Tsume sat down. "You certainly have a tough persona…"

"That's just how my pack was. When your parents are the alpha of the pack, you have a lot on your shoulders to be like them to take guidance over the pack. Guess that is why I fight so hard." Shizu shook her head. "But why am I telling you all this."

Tsume yawned "Let's head back" He didn't respond to her question as he turned around and began walking back to the rest of the pack. Shizu was quiet the entire walk back. Tsume was so strong, Shizu could tell just by looking at him. She didn't know why but she felt drawn to him.

"How was the run?" Toboe looked up as he laid down in the grass.

"Nice, this field goes on for just over a mile." Shizu then looked over as she heard a gunshot. Shizu suddenly felt blood on her fur. She looked at her side and saw a deep wound.

"Shizu!" Toboe shouted.

"Who fired that?" Tsume growled as he looked around.

Shizu sniffed the air, following the scent of gunpowder with her eyes. She was ignoring the pain in her side, not wanting to appear weak.

The group looked over as a group of three men walked over. The first stood about 6'3" with short black hair and green eyes. He was wearing tattered clothing with several holes in his jeans and plain white dirty t-shirt. He was young probably no older than 25 years old. The second stood taller, about 6'8" and had short blonde messy hair. He was wearing baggy black pants and a white tank top. He looked about the same age as the first man. Lastly was a shorter man, standing about 6'1" with messy brown hair. He was wearing black cargo shorts and a red short sleeve t-shirt. He looked slightly younger than the group, probably about 18 years old.

"Haha! I got something." The shortest man spoke as he held his shotgun.

"Way to go!" The tallest man smirked and pointed at Shizu. "But it aint dead"

"I'll fix that" The man aimed his gun at Shizu.

Shizu growled and jumped on the man with the gun, knocking him over.

The man screamed and the middle man kicked Shizu off of the man. Tsume growled and tackled the middle man to the ground.

"These aren't dogs!" The tallest man screamed as Kiba tackled him.

"Th-They're wolves!" The shortest man shouted.

"Leave…Now" Kiba growled and got off the man.

Hige bit the side of the gun and crushed it in his jaws.

The three men scrambled to their feet and ran away. Toboe was sitting beside Shizu as she attempted to get to her feet.

"This one will help…" Cheza knelt beside Shizu and gently pet her head. Shizu stopped trying to get up and just relaxed. Cheza gently put her hand on the wound on Shizu's side. Cheza began to hum a gentle song. Shizu soon felt warm and tired, the pain in her side was dissipating as the song Cheza was humming soothed Shizu. Shizu began growing tired as she slowly fell asleep.


	4. The Storm

Shizu slowly woke up and looked around. The rest of the pack was still sleeping as the sun was starting to rise. She noticed that her side had completely healed but she did want to get the blood off her fur. She walked into the lake and swam a bit before crawling out and shaking herself dry.

"Looks like you're feeling better." Tsume stood up and stretched.

"Yea, Cheza is amazing." Shizu sat down in the grass.

Kiba and Cheza slowly woke up as did Blue an Toboe, leaving only Hige asleep.

"Hey Hige, wake up." Tsume nudged him with his nose.

"Five more minutes" Hige yawned, refusing to get up.

"Now Hige" Tsume and Shizu spoke at the same time then looked at each other.

Hige began to laugh as he got up. "You two are so much alike that you already know what the other one is thinking."

"Shut it Hige" Tsume and Shizu once again spoke at the same time.

Shizu began to laugh as did Hige and Blue.

"Come on, we should keep moving." Kiba spoke.

"Are you feeling better Shizu?" Toboe looked over at her.

"Mhmm. Good as new." Shizu smiled and followed Kiba's lead with Cheza. "Thank you Cheza" Shizu looked up at Cheza who smiled.

"You are welcome." Cheza spoke as she walked beside Kiba.

The group walked out of the oasis and back into the snow. The sun was shining brightly and there was not a single cloud in the sky above them. The air was cold but no one felt any sense of a chill thanks to their warm fur. The group walked in silence through the snow for hours as slow moving clouds began to crowd the once spotless sky. The temperature was dropping as snowflakes soon began to dance down from the sky.

"This is going to turn into a storm soon…I can sense it." Shizu spoke up.

"I sense it too…" Toboe added.

"It's gonna get bad…" Hige pointed out.

"We should find a place for shelter." Tsume looked ahead.

Kiba nodded, knowing that this storm could get bad and he did not want to make Cheza walk through it. "Try to look out for anywhere we can rest."

The group continued walking as the wind soon picked up and the snow began to fall down at a quick pace. Shizu peered through the snow and saw what looked like a cave in the distance.

"You guys I see a cave" Shizu spoke over the howling wind.

"Come on, we're almost there." Kiba spoke as the pack continued their journey through the fast falling snow. The group finally reached a cave that could shield them from the snow.

"Smells safe" Shizu spoke as she shook the show off her fur. "Seems like nothing has been here in ages…"

The rest of the pack shook the snow from their fur and sat down on the dry dirt inside the cave. The snow could be seen blowing around just outside the cave's entrance.

"Are you alright Cheza?" Kiba looked up at her.

Cheza nodded and sat down in the dirt shivering. "This one is cold."

Kiba laid down close to her so he could keep her warm. "We should rest until this passes over."

Shizu stretched and sat down looking out at the falling snow.

"Hey Shizu how long do you think this storm will last?" Toboe sat down a few feet away.

"It's strong…it could be hours or even days…" Shizu sighed. "Boring…" She stood up and looked deeper in the cave. "I'm going to explore the rest of this cave." Shizu began walking. She knew that this went on for a while since she could see deep into the cave thanks to her excellent night vision.

"Careful, you don't know what is in here." Blue looked over.

"I will, don't worry about me." Shizu walked past the group and into the darkness of the cave.

"You're gonna let her go alone?" Hige looked at Tsume.

"She can make her own decisions. Not my job to baby-sit her." He laid down.

Shizu walked deeper into the cave peering through the darkness, sniffing the air. She had always been curious, even as a pup she liked to explore. She was the first of her litter to leave the den and explore outside. She sniffed the floor yet did not smell any creature's scent. There were some old scents but nothing to say that it had been in this cave recently.

_Man this is boring…There is nothing here. _Shizu thought to herself as she took another step and suddenly the ground beneath her collapsed. She hit the ground hard and coughed as the dirt settled. She growled and shook the dirt from her fur and looked up. The hole must have been ten feet deep. She got to her feet and cringed, her back leg must have gotten sprained during the fall. _Great…there is no way that I can jump out of here…_She sighed and attempted to climb up the hole but each time she tried the dirt fell away, she could not get a good enough grip on the dirt.

_Looks like I have to wait until they come looking for me…_She thought for a moment just to shake her head _No I will get out of here on my own…I don't need help…_She growled and continued attempting to climb out but each attempt met with the same result, a slide back down to the bottom. She hated asking for help, even when she knew that she needed it. She wanted to appear strong and independent, not weak and needy. She let out a heavy sigh. _I have to get out of here…_She laid down, she did not know what to do to get out. Every time she tried to climb she just knocked down more dirt. Each time she jumped her hind leg gave out from pain. _Looks like I will need to call them…_Shizu got to her feet and let out a howl.

Meanwhile back where the rest of the group was Toboe got to his feet.

"That was Shizu." Toboe looked into the cave.

"She sounds hurt" Blue got to her feet.

Tsume got to his feet and ran into the cave with Toboe running behind him with Blue and Hige. Kiba stayed behind to guard Cheza since she was still very cold.

"She sounded far…how will we find her?" Toboe wondered aloud.

"We'll find her…" Tsume growled as he ran.


	5. Friends

Shizu looked up as she heard footsteps. She then crouched down and growled as she saw a human looking down at her. He was a man about 25 years old with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. She could not make out any details in his face. She knew that this human must have set this trap since he knew where it was.

"Get away from her" She heard Tsume growl.

_They found me…_Shizu thought and felt suddenly happy.

"I have no intention of harming her." The man spoke.

"Then why the trap?" Toboe's voice spoke.

"It was set to prevent other humans from entering our village." The man's voice sounded familiar but Shizu could not tell from where.

"Are you okay?" Toboe looked down at her.

"I'm fine, just hurt my ankle so I can't jump up." Shizu looked up at him.

"We'll get her out." The man spoke and he tossed down an end of a rope. "Bite down on this."

Shizu quickly bit hard down on the rope and tugged gently signaling that she was ready to be pulled up. The man along with Toboe and Tsume pulled her carefully up until she was completely out of the hole. She let go of the rope as all four of her paws touched the ground surface. She then shook the dirt off of her fur. She looked and saw Toboe, Tsume as well as Hige and Blue.

"Are you sure you are alright Shizu?" Blue looked at her.

"I'm fine." Shizu sat down.

"Shizu?" The man spoke.

Shizu looked over and saw the man dressed in tan clothing with beaded accents as well as fur accents. He stood about 6'3" with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail held by a simple string.

"Alo?" Shizu's tail began to wag as she got to her feet. Now that she was out of the dirt she could smell his scent and knew it was him. She quickly got to her feet without applying pressure to her injured leg. She limped over and the man began patting her head.

"It's been so long" Alo smiled.

"How do you two know each other?" Hige tilted his head slightly.

"When I was a pup my pack moved around a lot since the humans were slowly expanding their cities. For a while we stayed near Alo's village. They welcomed us with open arms. They never once attempted to harm us." Shizu looked over at the group. "But then the other humans came searching for us…they attacked the village trying to find us…so to protect them we ran away…"

"Some humans are greedy savages…" Tsume scoffed.

"Come, you can all ride the storm out in our village." Alo smiled.

"If Shizu trusts him let's go" Hige smiled.

"Let's get Kiba and Cheza" Blue smiled and walked away with Hige.

"It will be much warmer in the village." Alo added as he began walking as Toboe, Shizu and Tsume followed. Shizu limped along since her hind leg was still hurt. The cave seemed to go on forever until they saw a glow in the distance; it was the exit of the cave. The snow was still blowing heavily as the wind seemed never ending or settling. By the time they reached the exit, Kiba, Cheza, Hige and Blue had managed to catch up with them.

Not far from the exit of the cave sat several teepees made of a tan thick fabric.

"Come on, the center tent is where we can stay." Alo called out over the howling snow.

The group trudged against the snow over to the largest of the tents. Alo opened one of the flaps as the wolves entered with Cheza. The tent was spacious with a cloth floor and a small fire in the center. Up on the top of the teepee was a small hole so the smoke could escape. The group huddled around the fire as Alo entered moments later with a bag and closed the makeshift cloth door.

"Cheza are you alright?" Kiba looked at her.

"This one feels much better." Cheza smiled as she sat down.

"So she really is the flower maiden." Alo sat down off to the side.

"Yea, she's guiding us to paradise" Toboe's tail wagged.

"Hopefully this storm will blow over soon." Shizu laid down.

"How is your ankle?" Blue looked over at Shizu

"It'll be fine, I just need to rest it. It will be fine once the storm blows over." Shizu yawned.

"I bet you are all hungry" Alo poured the bag and there was several pieces of meat.

Hige immediately began to drool and his tail waged. The group was all hungry and had not eaten in days. Alo went around and gave each wolf a piece of the meat.

"Alo are you sure about this?" Shizu looked up at him.

"Mhmm, dig in." Alo smiled.

The wolves immediately began eating the meat in front of them. Their teeth easily tore the meat as they soon finished.

"That was delicious" Toboe smiled.

"As we say, what is ours is yours. We share with the great wolves as much as we can." Alo smiled. "I must return to my family's tent. Get some rest." Alo bowed and exited the teepee.

"Someone's quiet." Hige grinned at Tsume.

"What about it?" Tsume shot a glare in Hige's direction.

"Is everything alright Tsume?" Toboe looked over at him.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me runt…" Tsume laid down.

"Someone's jealous of Alo." Hige grinned.

"What would I have to be jealous of that human for?" Tsume rolled his eyes, a faint hint of annoyance in his voice.

"How close he is to Shizu maybe and how happy she was to see him." Hige grinned widely.

"Hige" Kiba glared at him from his position beside Cheza next to the fire.

"What I'm just stating the obvious." Hige stretched with a sly smirk on his face.

"Shut it Hige" Tsume growled, clearly not amused by Hige's comment.

Shizu glared at Hige. "Mind your own business Hige"

"Man, no one here can take a joke" Hige laid down with a sigh.


	6. Anger

The pack slowly awoke the following morning. The wind had fallen still signaling that the storm had finally passed. Shizu slowly got to her feet, her ankle no longer hurting her.

"Feeling better Shizu?" Blue slowly sat up.

"Much better, thank you." Shizu smiled.

"Then we should head out." Kiba got to his feet as did Cheza.

"Someone want to tell that to the guy still sleeping?" Tsume scoffed.

Blue nudged Hige gently with her nose. Hige grumbled but did not move, not wanting to wake up.

"Hige wake up." Blue sighed in annoyance.

"Five more minutes." Hige grumbled.

"Now!" Tsume snapped and Hige jumped to his feet.

"Fine..." Hige shook to fluff out his coat.

"Let's go." Kiba led the group out of the tent. The sun was shining through the thin clouds overhead. The fresh snow was deep but it was still easy to walk through for the wolves. The pack could see scattered tree branches that had broken and blown all over the place during the storm over night. This was one of the strongest storms that the pack had seen yet. Shizu was glad that Alo was kind enough to give them a safe place to rest and ride out the storm while she rested her injured ankle over night.

"Leaving already?" Alo stepped out of his teepee.

"Oh yes Alo. We have a lot of ground to cover before it gets dark." Shizu's tail swayed side to side.

"It was great seeing you again." Alo pet Shizu's head gently which made her tail wag in happiness.

"Let's go." Tsume continued walking ahead of the group.

The rest of the pack soon followed leaving Shizu to say goodbye.

"Thank you for everything Alo. Goodbye." Shizu took one last look at Alo before running to catch up with the rest of the pack. The goodbye felt painful. She knew that she would most likely never see Alo again. If paradise was in fact real then she would go there and never see this world again and in turn not see Alo or the other humans again.

"Care to explain what that was about?" Shizu walked beside Tsume. She was determined to find out why Tsume was in such a bad mood this morning.

"No, not really." Tsume spoke coldly.

Shizu cut in front of Tsume facing him which made him stop as well. "What is your problem?"

"I'm not the one with the problem..." Tsume glared.

"Why were you so rude to Alo, he was helping us and giving us a place to keep warm during the storm and you practically ignored his existence without so much as a thank you." Shizu growled.

"Whatever." Tsume scoffed in annoyance.

Shizu growled as Hige stepped in between the two. "Come on you guys calm down." Hige spoke awkwardly.

"Yea we should not be fighting." Toboe added added. Toboe hated fighting especially when it was between friends that he cared about.

"Enough both of you, you are upsetting Cheza." Kiba snapped.

Shizu looked over and saw the worry in Cheza's eyes. "I'm sorry Cheza." Shizu apologized.

Cheza walked over and gently pet Shizu's head. Cheza's touch was so calming and soothing. Shizu did not know why but she felt so much more relaxed and calm when she was around Cheza.

"Let's keep going." Kiba began walking ahead of the group leaving the others to follow.

Shizu walked alongside Toboe not wanting to be near Tsume. She was still angry with him not understanding why he was so rude and cold towards her friend. Tsume was so complicated and she wished that she could understand him better but he would never open up to anyone. He kept his emotions hidden from the sight of the rest of the pack.

The pack walked for miles in silence. Each member not sure what to say, wondering if the tension between Shizu and Tsume would ever dissipate. Each moment the other pack members were wondering what was going through the minds of Tsume and Shizu as they continued their journey. The pack decided to rest beside a small frozen lake in order for Cheza to get a chance to rest.

Shizu sat down in the snow and looked up at the sky. She could not help but think about Alo and the rest of the villagers. She wondered if they were alright and if when the world in fact ended, would they suffer? She shook the though out of her head as Toboe sat next to her.

"Are you alright Shizu?" Toboe tilted his head slightly looking at her.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." Shizu looked over at him.

"She's thinking about that human again." Tsume rolled his eyes.

"So what if I am?" Shizu growled.

"Human are all the same." Tsume scoffed.

"No they aren't!" Shizu growled lowly, getting annoyed by Tsume's coldness.

"Yea, Alo was very kind to us." Toboe added

"Sure but if the time came he would sell us out to save his own skin." Tsume spoke coldly.

"He would never do that!" Shizu snapped back at Tsume.

"If you like that human so much then why don't you run back to him and be his pet." Tsume snapped.

Shizu growled. "That is it! I can not stand being near that dog! I am out of here." Shizu snapped and ran away from the pack through the snow. She wanted to get as far away for Tsume as she could. She did not care about paradise in this moment. She was so angry at Tsume that her thinking process was fogged by her anger.

Tsume stood dumbfounded that she actually ran off.

"Look what you did Tsume" Hige looked at Tsume.

"She'll be back." Tsume rolled his eyes before lying down.

"What if something happens to her?" Toboe wondered looking at Kiba for answers.

"She's capable of handling herself. She will be back once she cools down, until then lets get some rest." Kiba laid down in the snow allowing Cheza to lay back against him. Cheza was clearly saddened by seeing thee wolves fight and seeing Shizu leave on her own. Cheza looked up at the sky silently hoping for Shizu to return.


	7. Scars

Shizu ran for miles through the snow before finally stopping to rest. The sun was beginning to set in the distance. She looked up at the darkening sky and wondered why she had gotten so angry. No one has ever gotten her that angry before. Tsume was different and she wondered why she cared so much what he thought. She shook the though from her head and slowly began walking back in the direction where she left the pack. She knew that she over reacted and wanted to apologize.

She stopped in her tracks as she heard the sound of a motor. She looked in the distance and saw a jeep driving in her direction. Her eyes widened as she then began to run. She was exhausted from running so much not to long ago. She soon felt a net land on top of her and felt strong electric shocks flowing through her body. She let out a loud yelp of pain before she howled for help until the shocks forced her into a deep slumber...

Meanwhile back where the pack was resting Cheza sat up quickly, her eyes wide in fear.

"Cheza what's wrong?" Kiba looked at her, clearly worried.

"Shizu..." Cheza whispered.

Just then the pack hear a faint howl in the distance.

"That was Shizu!" Toboe got to his feet.

Tsume quickly got to his feet and ran in the direction of the howl, not waiting for the others to follow or make a plan. Tsume growled lowly as he kept on running as fast as he could through the snow, following the tracks that Shizu left behind. Tsume soon saw a black jeep in the distance along with two men lifting a net with a black wolf into the back. The two men were dressed in all black armored suits and black helmets.

Tsume could smell that it was Shizu. He let out a low growl and picked up his pace as the men turned seeing him. The tallest man picked up his net gun and fired it at Tsume who jumped up and dodged it before landing on top of the first man and biting deep into his neck with a low growl in his throat, killing him instantly. Tsume then felt a hard kick to his side forcing him off the man. The second man aimed his shotgun at Tsume and fired. The bullet grazed Tsume's shoulder but he ignore it and ran bitting the side of the barrel snapping it in two pieces. Tsume was ignoring the pain in his side from where he was kicked as he released the broken rifle. Tsume then tackled the man into the snow and bit hard on his throat, killing him.

Tsume limped off the man and over to the jeep. The wind was beginning to pick up and masked his trail leading back to where the pack was. She jumped into the back of it and bit down on the net which was still wrapped around Shizu. He tore it and pulled it off of Shizu's unconscious body. Tsume heard another motor in the distance and knew he had to get Shizu away from here. He gently bit the back of Shizu's neck, similar to the way a wolf would carry a pup, and dragged her off the back of the jeep allowing the soft snow to break their fall.

Tsume gently dragged Shizu through the snow and into a cave that was hidden just behind a large rock. He watched as the snow blew and covered his tracks, leaving no sign as to where they were hiding. Tsume limped over and laid down a few feet away from Shizu, his side still hurting from being kicked. He watched Shizu and saw her abdomen rise and fall as the breathed. He was relieved that she was alright but would never admit it out loud.

Shizu let out a faint whimper as she slowly began to wake up.

"Where am I." Shizu grumbled as she forced herself to her feet. Her body still sore from the painful shocks.

"A cave" Tsume spoke.

Shizu jumped slightly and saw Tsume laying in the corner. "What happened?"

"Humans caught you. I heard your howl and came looking found them tossing you in a back of their jeep and killed them." Tsume played the whole ordeal off as if it were nothing more than an everyday task.

Shizu saw his shoulder bleeding. "You're hurt." Shizu walked closer to him and sat down.

"It's just a scratch..." Tsume ignored the pain from the wound.

"You don't have to act so tough all the time..." Shizu spoke softly. "I am sorry for getting so angry."

"I guess I was kind of tough about it..." Tsume spoke.

Shizu knew that was the closest thing to an apology that she would get from Tsume but that was enough for her. "Thank you for saving me."

"Forget about it..." Tsume laid his head down.

Shizu gently began to lick the wound on Tsume's shoulder.

"What the-" Tsume began.

"I'm cleaning it." Shizu returned to gently licking the wound. Wolf saliva contained a unique quality that helped to heal wounds faster than normal.

Tsume slowly put his head down again and saw the scar on Shizu ankle, remembering how he noticed it when the pack first found Shizu. He then also saw a scar on her stomach, a small one that he could only see when the breeze moved her fur out of the way. "Those scar...what happened?"

Shizu stopped licking the wound and sat up. She let out a heavy sigh. "As I said my pack was attacked...and as you know it was not the first time...My sister and I had always been close. She was the runt of the litter when we were born so my parents were careful taking care of her as they raised me to be strong so that I could be the alpha. When the attacks started our pack ran...but no matter where we ran they found us but somehow my sister was never harmed. She started wandering off on her own and one day I followed her and saw that she was talking to humans...She was telling them where we were and where we would run to when we were attacked...I could not believe it...The humans left and my sister began walking back to the pack when I showed her I was there...I was so angry and she said that she did it because I got all the attention growing up...She attacked me and bit abdomen and ankle as I kicked her off. I bit her shoulder and she ran off...This happened the day before the pack was attacked again and I was captured...Then I met you all..."

"So she betrayed you all..." Tsume pointed out.

"Yea, I haven't seen her since. She is the reason my pack is dead..." Shizu shook off the anger, forcing herself to calm down. "Care to explain your scar?"

Tsume hesitated before sighing. "I was a coward...I ran for my life and was cast out of my pack as they fought for their lives against human attackers..." Tsume felt so angry with himself.

"But you've changed...you fought to save me rather than run away." Shizu added in attempts to cheer Tsume up.

Tsume was silent not wanting to speak about the memory anymore. He was not sure why she had told Shizu about his scar. Perhaps only because she had told him about hers? Maybe he wanted her to hate him? But she did not hate him. The story did not seem to phase her at all or change how she saw him. Shizu was different. She was strong in both body and mind. Tsume didn't know why but he felt different around Shizu...and he liked it.


	8. Heart

Shizu and Tsume had been in the cave for just under and hour when they heard Hige's unmistakable voice from outside the cave's entry way.

"Hey I found them!" Hige called out to the others. Kiba, Cheza, Blue and Toboe walked in to the cave following Hige.

"Are you two alright?" Blue asked as she saw the trail of blood in the cave leading to where Tsume was resting.

"We're fine." Tsume stood up, his wound no longer hurting. Wolves healed rather quickly and with Shizu licking the wound it helped to heal even more quickly.

"We just ran into a small delay...nothing serious." Shizu stood up and shook the dirt off her fur. "But I am sorry for running off...I shouldn't have done that" Shizu felt bad for letting her emotions get the better of her. She had never had that kind of reaction to such a simple thing before.

Cheza walked over to Shizu and gently pet her head, silently telling Shizu that she forgave her.

"Come on, we all need rest, we need to leave at daybreak..." Kiba spoke lying down in the dirt. Cheza walked over and sat down beside him so that he could keep her warm. Blue and Hige laid down beside one another while Toboe laid down a few feet away from Tsume and Shizu. Before long the entire group excluding Tsume and Shizu were fast asleep.

"Looks like they were pretty warn out..." Shizu spoke, keeping her voice soft so that she would not wake the others.

"Yea." Tsume yawned before lying back down.

"Thank you again...if you hadn't shown up then...i don't know what may have happened..." Shizu spoke softly, lying back down only a foot away from Tsume.

"Don't mention it..." Tsume replied. "It was nothing, they were weak..." Tsume looked over at her.

"You're strong...I admire that about you..." Shizu looked over at him.

"I could say the same to you..." Tsume sat up.

Shizu sat up looking at him she admired Tsume so much but she also felt something different towards him. She could not imagine losing him. _Could this feeling...really be...love?_ Shizu thought to herself.

"You okay?" Tsume looked at her curiously.

"Yea...I'm fine." Shizu shook her head.

"I know when you're lying" Tsume spoke slyly.

Shizu sat up. "Tsume...hear me out... This may sounds stupid...but" Shizu looked at him as he had a confused look on his face. "Ever since I had joined this pack you have stood out the most...You're strong, independent, and protective of those you care about though you never admit it...I think I...love you Tsume..." Shizu looked at the ground, waiting for a response in the silence of the cave.

Tsume got up and walked over to Shizu and nudged his nose into the side of her neck. Tsume then turned and looked away. Tsume was never the kind to admit his feelings. He always kept himself withdrawn and isolated so he did not know how to react to Shizu's statement.

Shizu relaxed once she felt Tsune's nose brush against her neck and she knew that, that was his own way of accepting what she had said. Shizu and Tsume laid down together, knowing that they should rest since morning would arrive sooner than they could realize...

The sun began to rise filling the cave with gentle sunlight. Kiba and Cheza got up and stretched. Blue woke up along with Toboe who let out a light yawn.

"Hige time to get up." Blue nudged Higen gently with her nose.

Hige grumbled before yawning and getting to his feet, shaking the dirt from his fur. Hige then looked over and saw Tsume and Shizu lying close together, both still asleep.

"Hehe looks like the lovebirds are still asleep." Hige chuckled.

Tsume and Shizu awoke to Hige's teasing voice. The two got up, ignoring his comments.

"Let's go." Kiba spoke before walking out of the cave with Cheza, not caring about Hige's comment.

"How'd you sleep Toboe?" Shizu asked with a gentle smile as the pack followed Kiba's lead through the snow. It was cloudy but the weather was calm. The sun fought its way through the clouds to illuminate the snow below. The air was cold but fine for the wolves with their thick fur.

"I slept great, that cave was nice and warm since the wind was not too strong last night." Toboe smiled as he walked beside Shizu and Tsume.

"How is your shoulder Tsume?" Shizu looked at him, curiously.

"It's fine." Tsume spoke, playing off that nothing had changed between the two.

Shizu knew that Tsume would take time to explain his feelings, especially with the rest of the pack. For Tsume, she was willing to wait.

The pack stopped in their tracks as a gunshot ran through the air. Each wolf took a position around Cheza to protect her. They all looked around and saw a large group of jeeps heading in their direction.

"Cheza stay back" Shizu spoke as she, Tsume, Kiba and Hige ran towards the group of jeeps. There were many men dressed in black armor with a red crest on the chest of each suit. The crest was in the shape of a crescent moon.

Shizu stopped short as they saw a wolf among the men. The wolf had shining black fur with white fur on its front leg and hints of it along its stomach. The wolf was slightly smaller than Shizu was.

Hige, TSume and Kiba stopped when she did and looked at her in confusion as to why she had stopped.

"A-Akai..." Shizu whispered.

"Hello sister..." The wolf smirked.

"I thought you were dead." Shizu stepped slowly closer to Akai.

"Sorry to disappoint you Shizu" Akai walked closer to Shizu. The jeeps had stopped several feet behind her.

"You're working with the humans?!" Tsume growled at Akai. He did not know who this wolf was but he could sense that she was a rouge.

"I see you made some new friends..." Akai slowly began to circle Akai keeping her eye on her.

"Akai what are you doing with these humans?" Shizu kept her eyes on Akai.

"It's simple...they allowed me to keep my life and take yours." Akai growled with a grin...


	9. Hateful

Akai growled lowly as she slowly began to circle Shizu a little closer this time. Shizu's eyes were locked on Akai's who seemed cold and hate filled.

"You were always everyone's favorite...Now I am the one who gets all the attention!" Akai stopped and glared as Shizu. Akai's body was trembling with anger.

"Akai they are just using you and will kill you the moment they are done with you!" Shizu attempted to reason with Akai.

"Shut up!" Akai shouted and tackled Shizu, sinking her teeth into Shizu's shoulder causing Shizu to yelp out in pain.

Cheza let out a high pitched scream as the smell of wolf's blood filled her sensitive nose.

Tsume was about to charge at Akai when a group of humans surrounded the rest of the pack. Tsume growled lowly. "Out of my way!"

"Tsume protect Cheza I'll be fine!" Shizu called as she shook her sister off of her, sending her flying into the snow.

Akai got to her feet, her sister's blood dripping from her teeth as she let out a low growl. "I want you to die!" Akai charged at her sister. Shizu jumped out of the way. She did not want to fight Akai. Akai was her sister and Shizu loved her even though the two were never that close. Shizu limped closer to her sister, wishing to reason with her.

"Akai Mother and Father loved us all equally, I was not the favorite..." Shizu spoke softly.

"Who do you think you are fooling?! I was the runt, the weakling, the pathetic pup! The entire pack saw that and wouldn't even give me a chance to prove myself otherwise!" Akai growled, anger flowing through her being.

"That is not true Akai! They did not want to hurt you so they did not attempt to play roughly with you." Shizu remembered how small her sister was when they were pups. The pack protected Akai and did not let the other pups wrestle her for fear that Akai would get harmed.

"Everyone thought I was weak...Everyone viewed you as the next pack leader without a second thought...No one ever gave me a second glance!" Akai charged at Shizu who jumped out of the way.

Shizu's leg gave out and she fell into the snow. The pain in her shoulder was slowing her down. She looked up and saw the rest of her pack fighting against the seemingly endless amount of humans. _I have to stop this..._ Shizu thought to herself as she saw that Tsume and Toboe were bleeding from wounds that they had recieved from the humans.

"Akai this is between us! Leave the others out of this!" Shizu forced herself to her feet.

"No...they are going to watch me kill you!" Akai jumped about to attack Shizu when the sound of a single bullet filled the air. Akai fell into the snow, a single bullet in her chest.

"Akai!" Shizu rushed to her sister's side only to see that she was dead. A tall man began to chuckle from behind a black mask. Shizu knew that this was the man that had fired the shot that had just killed her sister.

"Bastard..." Shizu growled and charged the man only for a cage to suddenly appear from under the snow, trapping her inside. "Let me out!"

"My apolgies my dear...but our majesty has sent us to retrieve you for her and she would be rather angry with us if we were to just simply let you go..." The man spoke from behind his mask.

"Shizu!" Tsume growled as he tackled a man that was standing between him and Shizu's cage. Tsume jumped off the man and charged towards Shizu's cage only to be stopped in his tracks as the man in the mask aimed his gun at Shizu.

"Not so fast...I suggest rethinking your strategy unless you want her blood to further stain this pure white snow..." The man spoke smoothly, his cold words sending a chill down Shizu's spine.

"Tsume stop he'll shoot her!" Toboe called out, clearly frightened by the situation they were in.

Tsume growled but took a step back, the urge to kill the man was hard for him to resist.

"That's a good dog. Load her up men! Our Lady awaits our return..." The man smirked as three men lifted the cage and gracelessly tossed in in the back of a jeep.

As fast as them men arrived they were all back in their jeeps. The man in the mask let out a faint chuckle as he hopped into the jeep that held Shizu's cage which quickly sped away.

"Why did they want Shizu?" Hige wondered a loud.

"I guess whoever their Lady is she is not searching for paradise...but something else..." Kiba spoke softly.

"Who cares what they are after..." Tsume growled.

"Yea! Let's go get Shizu back!" Toboe got to his feet.

"We will find her." Blue stated without question.

"This one is worried..." Cheza whispered.

"Someone needs to stay back with Cheza." Kiba spoke. He did not want Cheza going to such a dangerous place, not knowing what battle may lie ahead of them.

"Blue you're hurt, you should stay and rest." Hige looked at Blue who had a bleeding hind leg from a bullet wound she had received during the fight.

"I'm fine really-" Blue began.

"Blue stay here and guard Cheza, we will be back as soon as we can..." Kiba spoke, leaving no room for argument.

Blue nodded and limped back to the cave with Cheza.

"Let's go, follow the scent of blood..." Kiba spoke as the four wolves began to run through the snow, as fast as their legs would carry them.


	10. The Search

The wolves ran through the snow for what felt like hours when they stopped in front of a large castle surrounded by a tall metal fence. The tall stone walls of the castle looked cold and unforgiving. The windows were small and made of stained glass, keeping the inside of the castle a mystery to those outside of the castle walls. There were no visible lights on inside of the castle as the wolves began to search for a way in through the gate.

Toboe sniffed the air and looked in through the gate. "Shizu is in there, I can smell her." Toboe was growing more worried about Shizu as the time passed. Shizu had become part of the family and Toboe would be saddened if anyone of his family members were harmed.

Tsume let out a quiet growl. "What are we waiting for then, let's break down this gate and get her out of there." Tsume glared at the castle, growing more impatient waiting for the others to think of a plan.

"We do not want any attention..." Kiba warned as he brushed some snow away from the bottom of the fence. "We'll dig our way through..."

"Great idea!" Toboe quickly began to dig through the soft powdery snow and eventually through the cold dirt.

The three other wolves soon followed suit and began to dig quietly through the dirt and soon dug their ways under the fence and onto the other side. Kiba looked around and saw that no one was around.

"This place seems like a ghost town." Hige bluntly pointed out.

"Come on, we're wasting time." Kiba began to run through the yard of the castle and stopped in front of the door.

"Lets break this down." Tsume growled, growing more impatient.

"Yea, I don't see any other way in." Hige added.

Kiba nodded and the four wolves slowly stepped away from the door. They knew if they worked together that they would be able to get the door down.

"Be prepared to fight the moment we get inside." Kiba warned the wolves as he then nodded, the four wolves ran fast at the door throwing their bodies powerfully at the door but instead of feeling the hard metal of the door they felt nothing. The door had been opened at the same moment that they had attempted to break down the door.

The wolves picked themselves off the floor and looked around but did not see anyone or even smell a human presence around. They were standing in a small alcove inside the castle. It was fairly dark with just a single candle sitting on an end table providing just a small source of light for the room. The floor was dark marble with a long red carpet that extended through the alcove and down the long dark hallway as far as the wolves could see. A single stained glass window stood across the end table where the candle silently shone.

"How did the door open?" Toboe looked over at the door.

"Must have been a switch or something..." Hige shrugged.

"Let's go." Tsume began to walk as the others followed. Tsume sniffed the air and followed the scent of Shizu that flowed through the air. Every few feet a candle hung to provide a small source of light. The deeper the wolves traveled through the dark halls of the castle, the stronger Shizu's scent became. The pack stopped as the hall separated into two different directions.

"I-I can't tell which direction Shizu's smell is coming from." Toboe looked down each hallway.

"They must be using something to keep us from figuring out which way she is..." Hige growled.

"Hige, you and I will go to the left, Tsume and Toboe talk the right. Howl if you need help or find Shizu." Kiba ordered as he and Hige ran down the left hall.

"Let's go runt." Tsume spoke coldly as he and Toboe quickly began to run through the dark halls of the castle. Tsume let his nose guide him through the hall, down every turn and curve he ran without a single his vision all he could see was Shizu. Her eyes, her pure black fur, her tone frame, the fire that hid behind her eyes, he could see it all. He shook the vision from his mind and once again focused on the hallway in front of him, carefully listening to make sure Toboe was not far behind.

"Keep up runt." Tsume spoke quietly as he continued to run.

Toboe kept running closely behind Tsume. He found it strange that there were no humans in sight. He began to worry that they could possibly be running into a trap.

Tsume and Toboe came to a stop as they reached a tall wooden door with a single metal handle. It looked old and faintly worn down over the years, then again, so did the rest of the castle.

"I smell a human on the other side of this door." Toboe sniffed the air. "I smell Shizu too!"

"Shush, do you want them to hear us?" Tsume snapped.

"How should we get in?" Toboe spoke, lowering his voice.

Tsume began to think, not sure how they could get in without getting caught. He was snapped from his thoughts by a sudden loud yelp from the other side of the door. The sound was soon followed by the smell of fresh blood...


	11. Pain

Toboe gasped at the sound of the yelp. The smell of fresh blood filled the wolves' sensitive noses.

"That's..." Toboe whispered.

"Shizu" Tsume finished as he turned and saw Kiba and Hige running in their direction.

"We heard a yelp." Hige began as he looked at the large door in front of them.

"It's Shizu-" Toboe began but was interrupted by Tsume breaking down the door but ramming it with his full strength. The door lead to what appeared to be a large ballroom. Large stained glass let in very little light. The marble floor seemed cold along with the stone walls of the room. Several paintings of what appeared to be the royal family decorated the room. Tsume lifted his gaze to the center of the room where he saw Shizu struggling to stay on her feet with a large wound on her side. A tall woman with long blood red hair stood about 7 feet away from Shizu wearing a red strapless corset top dress. The woman was holding a blood covered sword in her hands. The woman's eyes seemed cold as a sickening smirk grew across her face. She glanced over at the wolves for a moment only to return her gaze to the severely injured wolf in front of her.

"Oh look...your friends have come to watch you die..." The woman spoke softly before letting out a faint chuckle.

"Ts-Tsume?" Shizu forced out weakly, refusing to let herself fall as she felt the blood dripping from her wound onto the cold marble floor.

"Shizu..." Toboe whispered as he walked into the room along side Kiba and Hige.

"Bastard..." Tsume growled as he rushed at the woman who smirked and snapped her fingers and a red light emerged from the circle which surrounded Shizu.

Shizu let out a loud yelp as she fell to the ground as the light faded. Shizu whimpered as she struggled trying to get to her feet but couldn't.

"The time is almost here!" The woman laughed as she looked over at Shizu. "With the blood of this pure dark wolf I shall gain immortality!" The woman laughed more as she walked closer to Shizu. "I Lady Aoi Kogane shall live on for all eternity!"

"A lot of good immortality will do you when the world ends." Kiba growled.

Tsume got in front of Shizu blocking her from Aoi. Tsume growled lowly ready to kill Aoi.

"When her soul leaves her being, I will be forever youthful and beautiful for all time." Aoi was clearly insane and not hearing anything Kiba was saying. She was only focused on killing Shizu.

"The legends spoke of the pure black wolf with emerald eyes...When the moon vanishes from the sky...the blood shall spill on the palace floor and the wielder of the family sword shall gain eternal youth and immortality...That day had finally come..." Aoi laughed hysterically.

Toboe looked up to the stained glass window. "Its the new moon..."

"When the moon vanishes from the sky..." Hige thought a loud.

"I don't care what stupid fantasy you believe in, I'll kill you before I let you hurt her again..." Tsume growled his teeth bared ready to attack.

"I tricked that foolish runt into leading me straight to her. It took a while but I finally have her..." Aoi walked closer.

"You had your men...kill my sister." Shizu finally forced herself to her feet. "I'll kill you..."

Aoi chuckled lightly. "My, my someone certainly is tougher than she appears..."

Shizu growled with Tsume still standing between her and Aoi. Shizu's body trembled in a mix of anger and weakness from the blood loss. She slowly stepped out in front of Tsume and glared at the woman. "try it...I dare you..." Shizu then looked at Tsume. "I'll be fine...please...let me do this..."

Tsume looked at Shizu a moment knowing that she was just as stubborn as he was so there would be no way to change her mind. He slowly stepped back away, ready to intervene if he was needed. He knew that Shizu wished to avenge the sister she had lost, even though that sister had tried to kill her...

"Tonight my fate shall be sealed!" Aoi raised her sword and brought it down only for Shizu to quickly move out of the way and bite Aoi's wrist.

"Ah!" Aoi shouted in pain as the sword fell from her grasp. The sword fell with a clatter onto the marble floor.

Shizu quickly released her grip on Aoi and tackled her to the ground. Aoi punched Shizu's side on her wound. Shizu yelped but did not move. She shook the pain away and quickly bit down on Aoi's neck. Aoi coughed up blood and quickly pulled a dagger from her boot and stabbed it into Shizu's right side. Shizu whimpered and backed away from Aoi, the dagger still lodged in her side.

Tsume growled and ran at Aoi and bit down hard on her neck.

"N-No...Immortality sh-should...be mine..." Aoi whispered before dying, her eyes dimmed.

"Shizu!" Toboe rushed over to Shizu's side as she fell over onto her left side.

Tsume turned and ran over to Shizu's side and bit down on the handle of the dagger and pulled it from her side.

"Shizu..." Tsume looked down at her.

Shizu looked back up at Tsume as blood fell from her mouth. "Ts-Tsume..."

Kiba looked at her wound and knew it was only a matter of time. He looked at Hige and then Toboe and motioned his head in the direction of the door. The three wolves left leaving Tsume and Shizu alone in the blood covered ballroom.

"Tsume...I don't have long..." Shizu began.

"Shut up..." Tsume snapped. "Don't tell me you're just gonna give up..." Tsume looked down."I'm sorry..."

Shizu looked at him. "For what?" She spoke weakly.

"I should have gotten here sooner...then." Tsume clenched his jaw.

Shizu smiled. She could see that Tsume was more upset than he would ever show. "Tsume...lay here with me for a little while...please..."

Tsume slowly laid down beside Shizu and soon felt her nuzzle against him slowly. "Don't get to comfortable...we all have to get to paradise...together..." Tsume knew he was lying to himself but he would not accept the fact that Shizu would not survive her wounds.

"Tsume...you did all you could...and I thank you for that...and for showing me a side of myself...that i never knew existed...and I know...you'll make it to paradise..." Shizu could feel herself growing colder and weaker.

Tsume laid his head gently on Shizu's.

"I love you Tsume..." Shizu whispered as her eyes fell closed and her breath stopped.

Tsume clenched his jaw as he heard Shizu stop breathing. Tsume knew she was gone as he slowly got to his feet again and looked at Shizu's lifeless body. "I won't let you down...Shizu..." Tsume looked up at Kiba, Hige and Toboe slowly walked into the ballroom and over to where he stood beside Shizu's body.

"We can't just leave her body here...not in this kind of place." Toboe looked over at Tsume who nodded.

Tsume gently bit down on the back of Shizu's neck and followed Kiba's lead out of the ballroom, carefully dragging Shizu through the halls until they reached the outside of the castle.

"Hey look." Toboe walked over and to where a sled sat leaning up against the castle wall.

"We can use that to bring Shizu somewhere more...respectful..." Hige added.

"The cave..." Tsume spoke faintly.

Toboe tugged the sled down as Tsume gently pulled Shizu's body onto the sled. Tsume and Toboe each bit down on the rope and began to pull the sled through the snow, following Kiba and Hige. The pack walked in silence through the snow. Each wolf saddened by the loss of their pack member but attempting to remain strong. They knew that they had a long journey ahead of them after they laid Shizu to rest so did not want to let this event stop them from achieving their goal. They knew that is what Shizu would have wanted. Before they knew it they found themselves back at the cave.

Blue and Cheza ran out of the cave.

Blue gasped and Cheza's eyes widened as they saw Shizu's body on the sled.

"I-Is she?" Blue asked looking at Hige who nodded.

Cheza silently walked over and knelt in the snow beside the sled. She gently ran her fingers through Shizu's fur as a single tear ran down her cheek. Cheza hated seeing an wolf harmed. Cheza slowly got to her feet and walked back over to Kiba who motioned the others to leave Tsume alone one more time.

"Go ahead...I'll catch up." Tsume spoke, trying to appear strong in front of the pack.

The rest of the wolves followed Kiba's lead through the snow and Tsume pulled the sled into the cave. He gently nudged Shizu off the sled so she was lying on the ground.

"This place seems fitting..." Tsume spoke softly. "It is where you told me..." Tsume stopped himself. "You weren't like any wolf I have ever known...you were strong...independent and...beautiful..." Tsume gently rubbed his head against Shizu before looking at her one last time. "I will make it to paradise...for her..." Tsume quickly ran out of the cave...

_The End! Sad ending I know :( but thought it would be a nice way to end a_

_seemingly sad story. I hope you all enjoyed and will keep reading my stories!_

_I am still working on my new Ouran story. Please Review and Comment! :)_


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